Shāh, Old Persian Khshayathiya, title of the kings of Iran, or Persia. When compounded as shāhanshāh, it denotes “king of kings,” or emperor, a title adopted by the 20th-century Pahlavi dynasty in evocation of the ancient Persian “king of kings,” Cyrus II the Great (reigned 559–c. 529 bc). Another related title or form of address is padshāh, or “lord king.” The title shāh was also used in Afghanistan until the overturn of the monarchy in 1973 and has been used by rulers and princelings in other countries of central and southern Asia. Sometimes, as a part of a name, shāh was used by hereditary governors and heads of Ṣūfī orders. The son of a shāh is called a shāhzāda (literally “shāh son”). See alsoshabunder.

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in the Malay states, the official who supervised merchants, controlled the port, and collected customs duties. Although the title shabunder was of Persian-Arabic origin, the position itself existed on the Malay Peninsula prior to the coming of Islāmic traders.

...and Sakastan (Sīstān), in eastern Iran, were now ruled by members of the Sāsānian family, who were appointed by the sovereign with the title of shāh (king). Among such provincial governors, precedence was often given to the heir to the throne, who was placed in control of large territories, such as the former Kushān...